TERRORISM NEWS

'The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them'...'Every war when it comes, or before it comes, is represented not as a war but as an act of self-defense against a homicidal maniac'...'In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act'...
George Orwell

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Officials say Iraq motivated London Bombings

The war in Iraq contributed to the radicalisation of the July 7 London bombers and is likely to continue to provoke extremism among British Muslims, according to reports based on secret assessments by security and intelligence chiefs.

...

References to Britain's role in the invasion of Iraq and continuing military presence there are made in a section of the report dealing with the radicalisation of the four British suicide bombers.

The draft narrative, ordered by Charles Clarke, the home secretary, after calls for a public inquiry into the bombings, is said to refer to economic deprivation, social exclusion, and disaffection with community leaders as other "motivating factors".

The document echoes views in a top secret report by the Joint Intelligence Committee, leaked yesterday. It states: "Iraq is likely to be an important motivating factor for some time to come in the radicalisation of British Muslims and for those extremists who view attacks against the UK as legitimate."

The report, International Terrorism: Impact of Iraq, was drawn up in April last year - before the London bombings - and sent to senior ministers, including Tony Blair. It warns that Iraq had "reinforced the determination of terrorists who were already committed to attacking the west and motivated others who were not".

It adds: "We judge that the conflict in Iraq has exacerbated the threat from international terrorism and will continue to have an impact in the long term."

Reader's, that's it for me for a long while. I'm off to Canada to do permaculture work and won't have the time to contribute to this site. Follow Permaculture Reflections for more details. Thank you _H_ wherever you are.

Friday, March 24, 2006

Rummy vs. Facts

"From what I've seen thus far, much of the reporting in the U.S. and abroad has exaggerated the situation [in Iraq]."-- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, 3/7/06

VS.

"[A]ctually most reporters get it wrong...the situation on the ground is actually worse than the images we project on television."-- NBC reporter Richard Engel, the only television news correspondent to cover the entire war in Iraq for an American television network from Baghdad, 3/22/06

Predictable and predicted

Many analysts warned that if the U.S. made claims to the right of preemptive strikes, others would follow suit. They have. From the AP via Common Dreams:

North Korea suggested Tuesday it had the ability to launch a pre-emptive attack on the United States, according to the North's official news agency. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the North had built atomic weapons to counter the U.S. nuclear threat.

"As we declared, our strong revolutionary might put in place all measures to counter possible U.S. pre-emptive strike," the spokesman said, according to the Korean Central News Agency. "Pre-emptive strike is not the monopoly of the United States."